Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar: ‘A replacement (for the MiG-21) could be the LCA Tejas or another – I’ll not call it low end – but a single engine lighter aircraft. Tejas is a good aircraft but it has its limitations.’
Air Marshal M Matheshwaran analyzes exactly why the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft will never fully meet the ASR and cannot become the IAF ‘s frontline fighter in the Lo segment.
Air Marshal M Matheswaran (retired) goes back in history to examine the reasons why the Light Combat Aircraft project has failed to meet expectations.
After spending USD 30 billion on the FGFA and USD 20 billion on the MMRCA, the Indian Air Force will be left with a serious shortfall of at least 14 squadrons in 2032, going by the ‘best-case scenario’.
Saab’s Lars-Olof Lindgren says his company has been quietly working on a plan to build the Gripen in India and has already done a lot of the homework for it.
The final session of the roundtable summarized the state of Indian air power and discussed ways to alleviate the difficult situation the air force could find itself in future.
The roundtable moved on to discuss the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program, the DRDO development of a new fighter to be produced by HAL, and raised serious concerns on the impact of it’s possible failure.
The discussion moved to the IAF’s tender for acquisition of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat aircraft with the question being: How does MMRCA fit future air power needs, costs, squadron strength?
In the next round, the roundtable discussed the balance of air power in India’s neighborhood and the challenges posed by the air forces of Pakistan and China.
In the second session, moderator Inderjit Badhwar initiated the discussion deconstructing the evolution and process of the Indian Air Force (IAF) competition for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
Pushpinder Singh, Editor of Vayu, introduces the state of Indian air power in comparison to neighboring countries and presents some stark realities in an authoritative presentation, which is essential viewing.
It’s time for the defense ministry and IAF to question whether there is any aircraft that can replace the MiG-21 on the horizon, keeping in mind existing acquisition programs.
Feast your eyes on a selection of the best imagery from Aero India 2013. These pictures include the ALH Dhruv, Embraer AEW&C, Rafale, Tiger Moth Light Combat Helicopter and the Czech aerobatic team, the Flying Bulls.
DRDO head, Dr. V.K. Saraswat, took a backseat ride in the Swedish Saab’s Gripen C/D aircraft on the sidelines of the Aerospace Forum held at Linköping, Sweden, last week.
StratPost tweeted facts about the Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) and the participating aircraft last week. Here they are on a single page, for easy reference. And please feel free to add any more in the comments. They will be updated on this page.
